Celebrating the Winter Solstice

[Front-Ranger]

Let's take a short break from the scholarly discussion. Yule all come over to the Social Events Forum today to help celebrate this ancient festival, I hope!!


http://bettermost.net/forum/index.php/topic,15657.0.html

[Ellemeno]

Happy Solstice, everyone!

Here's a great holiday song:  Dar Williams singing "The Christians and the Pagans" live (3:19).

Gorgeous, Paul, sublime.  Thank you for introducing me to it.  It's only my second Dar Williams song, and it made me cry almost as much as my first one always does: The Babysitter's Here.

[David In Indy]

In the spirit of the Winter Solstice, I would like to offer the following....

(I did not write this, but I thought it was beautiful and it was within the spirit of the occasion...)



"I am the sun, I am Her son
I am the light renewed
I am the stag, I am the tree
The warrior in you
I give myself in death each fall
Returning in the spring
My birth comes near, to bring you light
The circle soon completes"
The circle soon completes

And at his sign the young men heaved
The log into the fire
The flames grew high and roaring loud
The light climbed to the stars
The warmth and heat filled all who came
To marvel at the sight
They waited there impatiently
For dark to turn to light
Dark to turn to light

The three still stood, in silence there
The Goddess in their eyes
They looked at each and everyone
The Celts who'd gathered nigh
They raised their hands, they raised the song
They raised the cone of light
They called the sun back from the dark
And brought the earth to life
They brought the earth to life

The people watched in wonder there
As the sun appeared
Over hills and over trees
The light was bright and clear
With gold and pink and red and rose
The morning sky was filled
The sun had come, returned to them
Through power of their will
Through power of their will

And with the dawn, the earth reborn
The people found their beds
The three, the priest their divine roles
And aspects they did shed
The wheel had turned through magic's call
The light had been renewed
In peaceful sleep, in loving arms
Their hope did spring anew
Our hope does spring anew

And so my friends, my story ends
I must bid you goodnight
And as I leave these words take heed
And carry all your life
Remember that the longest night
Will never stay to last
For light returns and fear is lost
And hope burns through the past
Hope burns through the past

[Front-Ranger]

It's just 14 hours of driving flying, Kerry!! Hop on Qantas, you'll be here in two shakes of a lamb's tail!!

I'm enjoying the book Gay Witchcraft. It is chock full of rituals for any occasion. And stories, myths, etc. One that I liked was the story of the two kings of the Celts, the Oak King and the Holly King. The Oak King reigns in the waxing half of the year, and the Holly King reigns during the waning half. Like yin and yang, they are complementary and opposite. There are very fine rituals for the transfer of energy from the Oak King to the Holly King and vice versa.

Here's more information about the book Gay Witchcraft:

Author Penczak, Christopher. 
Title Gay witchcraft : empowering the tribe / Christopher Penczak.
Publisher York Beach, ME : Red Wheel/Weiser, 2003.
 
Awesome songs/poems, Paul and David!!


 
 

[Jeff Wrangler]

The earliest known Christian writings are the epistles of Paul, composed between 48 and 58 A.D. Some of these are of doubted authenticity (and were even in antiquity), but the debate is too complex to summarize here.

Sure enough. The Lutheran liturgy in use in my childhood quoted the Words of Institution from I Corinthians. The authenticity of I Corinthians as a genuine letter of Paul is not in doubt--or it wasn't when I was in college, anyway.

II. THE MITHRAIC SACRAMENTS.

The principal rites of the worship of Mithras bore a very curious resemblance to those subsequently established in the Catholic church; they likewise furnished a model for the initiatory ceremonies observed by the secret societies of the Middle Ages, and by their professed descendants in modern times. The Neophytes were admitted by the rite of Baptism; the initiated at their assemblies solemnly celebrated a species of Eucharist...

The two distinguishing Rites, or "Sacraments" (to use the technical term) are thus alluded to by Justin Martyr (100–165 c.e.) (Apol. II) in the earliest description which has been left us of their character. "The Apostles in the Commentaries written by themselves, which we call Gospels, have delivered down to us that Jesus thus commanded them: He having taken bread, after that He had given thanks, * said: Do this in commemoration of me; this is my body. Also having taken a cup and returned thanks, He said: This is my blood, and delivered it unto them alone. Which things indeed the evil spirits have taught to be done, out of memory, in the Mysteries and Initiations of Mithras. For in these likewise a cup of water, and bread, are set out, with the addition of certain words, in the sacrifice or act of worship of the person about to be initiated: a thing which Ye either know by personal experience or may learn by inquiry."

http://www.sacred-texts.com/gno/gar/gar18.htm

To me, what this all says, is the religion of Mithra came first, imported from other lands.

This is very interesting, but say, rather, Judaism came first. Christianity began as a sect of Judaism, not as a sect of Mithraism. What this demonstrates is that certain practices (ritual purificatory baths, ritual meals) were common elements in various religions in the Near East at the beginning of the present era. It does not demonstrate that Christianity took these things over from Mithraism.

[delalluvia]

This is very interesting, but say, rather, Judaism came first. Christianity began as a sect of Judaism, not as a sect of Mithraism. What this demonstrates is that certain practices (ritual purificatory baths, ritual meals) were common elements in various religions in the Near East at the beginning of the present era. It does not demonstrate that Christianity took these things over from Mithraism.

Kinda hard to say.  Where did Judaism get its rituals from?  Some say during their sojourn in Babylon, which is where Judaism picked up some Zoroastrian influences that it didn't have before (Mithra, being one of the heavenly beings in the Zoroastrian pantheon - to dfferentiate from Mithras).  Other theories are the influences from the Sumerian people who were city dwellers and writers long before the Jews put pen to paper so to speak.  Their worship included ritual meals and bathing.  I kinda figured it goes way back.  Jewish goat herders were not usually in a position to find sufficient water for purification baths on a regular basis unlike some more sedentary urban civilizations. 

[Front-Ranger]

The Solstice draws near...I will have my Tarot cards ready!!

[Penthesilea]

I'm note one for Tarot or spiritual celebrating of solstice. But I'm damn glad the days will start to get longer again from tomorrow on .

[Artiste]

La journée la plus longue et la plus noire est aujour'dhui ?

Longest and darkest day is  to-day?

[ifyoucantfixit]

       That picture of Jack with the sheep, is and has been my desk top pic.  Since the first day
I got it.  I love it, and it just mean BBM to me.